Docs: 10 cherries per day can cut arthritis pain

Study shows cherries have pain-relieving properties

Doctors said cherries carry a lot of health benefits, including preventing gout flare-ups and controlling joint inflammation. A recent study also found that eating 10 cherries a day can help manage arthritis pain.

Doctors say cherries carry a lot of health benefits, including preventing gout flare-ups and controlling joint inflammation. A recent study also found that eating 10 cherries a day can help manage arthritis pain.

"Sometimes I would call it excruciating. It's a stabbing pain. It makes it very difficult to walk," she explained.

The pain comes from arthritis, and she feels it the most in her lower back. From injections to pain relievers, Dugan and her doctor, Mercy Medical Center's Dr. James McGowan, have come up with ways to manage the pain.

McGowan said often times a simple change in diet can help.

"There are also a number of different foods that have some pain-relieving properties that we know about, and so encouraging patients to use that, at least as a part of their pain control regiment, is something we try to focus on," McGowan said.

For example, dietitians at Mercy recommend cherries. They said whether it's a juice, a jar or a pill, it can really help.

"Cherries are great. They have anthocyanin in them, and that gives them that deep, dark red color, and those are going to be packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, which are going to help people with arthritis pain," said Mercy dietician Leigh Tracy.

McGowan said a recent study published in the Journal of Functional Foods backs that up. He's known that cherries have tremendous health benefits but said medical research found the fruit can be a useful way to stop pain.

The doctor said the study showed that when the participants ate cherries, there was a reduced level of inflammatory chemicals in their blood.

"So, it's one more thing people can think about in pain control," McGowan said.

Dugan eats cherries already and said she's willing to do what it takes to manage her pain so she can live her life.

"I try to do what I can because I need to live -- I want to live my life, and that doesn't mean being stuck at home just sitting there," she said.